Democracy in Action: Community Organizing in Chicago, 1960-1968
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Democracy in Action: Community Organizing in Chicago, 1960-1968 A dissertation presented to the faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy Renee A. LaFleur November 2011 © 2011 Renee A. LaFleur. All Rights Reserved. 2 This dissertation titled Democracy in Action: Community Organizing in Chicago, 1960-1968 by RENEE A. LAFLEUR has been approved for the Department of History and the College of Arts and Sciences by Kevin Mattson Professor of History Howard Dewald Interim Dean, College of Arts and Sciences 3 ABSTRACT LAFLEUR, RENEE A., Ph.D., November 2011, History Democracy in Action: Community Organizing in Chicago, 1960-1968 Director of Dissertation: Kevin Mattson Like the settlement house movement of the Progressive Era, the neighborhood organizations of the 1960s spoke of great democratic ideals. Both the New Left and the civil rights movement questioned the future of democratic participation in America. This quest for a more democratic society is apparent in both the New Left’s idea of participatory democracy and the civil rights movement’s emphasis on integrationist nonviolent direct action. At the same time, an older organizing tradition experienced a revival. Created by Saul Alinsky years earlier, this method strove to put power back in the hands of ordinary people by building community organizations. Each of these methods sought democracy in different institutions and forms. In this dissertation, I examine the democracies of three groups in Chicago: the New Left organization, JOIN; Alinsky’s The Woodlawn Organization (TWO); and a civil rights group, the Coordinating Council of Community Organizations (CCCO). The conditions in Chicago produced by a rediscovery of poverty, the momentous civil rights revolution, and a powerful political machine tested these democratic forms. This dissertation examines the ideology each group espoused and compares it to the actual structure of the organization to provide a better understanding of the nature of community groups and the workings of democratic forms. In addition, a study of this nature helps us understand how community organizations adjust their ideology when confronted with 4 issues of poverty, race, and hierarchical systems. Moreover, this dissertation explores the effects of community control in its successes and failures. From this, we can begin to understand which democratic methods succeeded in creating change and use that as a model for future community organizing and reform efforts at a local level. Approved: _____________________________________________________________ Kevin Mattson Professor of History 5 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I began this dissertation nearly four years ago. In this time I have benefited from the support and guidance of many people. I would like to begin by thanking the History Department at Ohio University for providing an atmosphere conducive to learning and debate. I especially want to acknowledge those professors who have influenced my development as a historian in ways that aren’t immediately identifiable in this dissertation: Dr. Chester Pach, Dr. Paul Milazzo, Dr. Katherine Jellison, Dr. Sholeh Quinn, and Dr. Kevin Mattson. In particular, Dr. Mattson, as my advisor, provided advice and encouragement throughout this process. His prompt attention to my work made it possible for me to finish this dissertation without facing the wrath of the graduate school for overstaying my welcome. This dissertation would not have been possible without travel money provided by the Contemporary History Institute and the Department of History at Ohio University. In addition, I had the benefit of year-long fellowships from the Contemporary History Institute and the Cady Fellowship from the Graduate College at Ohio University. I could not have devoted the time necessary to finish this project in the last year and a half without the support of my department chair, David Coffey, who made my teaching load and schedules work with a demanding writing schedule. The rest of my colleagues at my new home at the University of Tennessee at Martin have been supportive as well. Finally, I want to thank my family and friends. They learned to stop asking about my dissertation and showed patience when I had to decline invitations or cancel plans because of writing. I am sure they are as happy to see me finish as I am. Most 6 importantly, my sincerest thanks and deepest love go to my husband, Ricky Garlitz. He is my partner in life, work, fun, and now parenthood. I know I could have done it without him, but I wouldn’t want to. 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract ............................................................................................................................... 3 Acknowledgments............................................................................................................... 5 Abbreviations ...................................................................................................................... 8 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 9 Chapter 1: JOIN: A Participatory Democracy of the Poor ............................................... 25 Chapter 2: TWO: An Exercise in Pragmatic Democracy ................................................. 74 Chapter 3: CCCO-SCLC: The Democratic Dream of Integration .................................. 133 Chapter 4: Conflicting Democracies: The Machine, the War on Poverty, and Black Power ......................................................................................................................................... 205 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 265 Bibliography ................................................................................................................... 274 8 ABBREVIATIONS Used in text: AFSC American Friends Service Committee CCUO Chicago Committee on Urban Opportunity CCCO Coordinating Council of Community Organizations CFM Chicago Freedom Movement CORE Congress of Racial Equality ERAP Economic Research and Action Program JOIN Committee for Jobs or Income Now, later JOIN: Community Union IAF Industrial Areas Foundation NAACP National Association for the Advancement of Colored People OEO Office of Economic Opportunity SCLC Southern Christian Leadership Conference SDS Students for a Democratic Society SNCC Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee TFIS Teachers for Integrated Schools TWO The Woodlawn Organization UAW United Auto Workers UPW United Packinghouse Workers UPC Urban Progress Center Used in footnotes: MLK Center Martin Luther King Center U of C University of Chicago UIC University of Illinois, Chicago WHS Wisconsin Historical Society 9 INTRODUCTION “A democracy is more than a form of government; it is primarily a mode of associated living, of conjoint communicated experience. The extension in space of the number of individuals who participate in an interest so that each has to refer his own action to that of others, and to consider the action of others to give point and direction to his own, is equivalent to the breaking down of those barriers of class, race, and national territory which kept men from realizing the full import of their activity.”—John Dewey, Democracy and Education1 “In these communities they, under a democratic society, express their desires and dictates through their own organizations. These are organizations that are genuinely of the people, by the people and for the people—organizations that by their very character formulate and articulate a dynamic democratic philosophy. It is clear that the existence of these organizations is vital to the functioning of democracy, for without them we lack all drive for the development of the democratic way of life.”—Saul Alinsky, Reveille for Radicals2 Community organizations have a rich tradition in American society. Beginning with the benevolent trade societies and church charities, people have found ways to make their lives better through local, non-governmental collective activity. This continued with the settlement house movement of the Progressive Era, the work of the Congress of Industrial Organizations and Saul Alinsky in the Back of the Yards during the Great Depression. And, the 1960s brought a flowering of community organizations stemming from civil rights and the New Left traditions, which continues today in coops, neighborhood associations, and tenant unions. Breaking with the conformity of the previous decade, the 1960s brought an era of activism and change. Young Americans pondered President John F. Kennedy’s call to “ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” They joined VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) at home and the Peace Corps abroad. 1 John Dewey, Democracy and Education (New York: MacMillan, 1916), 101. 2 Saul David Alinsky, Reveille for Radicals (New York: Vintage Books, 1969), 46–47. 10 Building on the triumph of Brown v. the Board of Education, African Americans integrated schools, bus stations, and lunch counters through direct, grassroots action. While students on college campuses orchestrated the Free Speech Movement and shared governance, white liberal organizations like the United Auto Workers Union joined the cause to fight for civil rights and end poverty. In their activities, these groups attempted to create a more democratic society